“Biennial” v. “Biannual” in DEA World

Folks often confuse soundalike terms “biennial” and “biannual” with one another.  “Biennial” refers to every two years while “biannual” means twice a year.  Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) regulations require registrants after taking an initial inventory of all controlled substances on-hand to take a “biennial” inventory on any date within two years of the previous initial or “biennial” inventory date.  21 C.F. R. § 1304.11(c).  The agency holds its ever-popular “biannual” National Prescription Drug Take Back Day each spring and autumn.

In a Marlin Perkins pivot, speaking of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, DEA and its law enforcement partners will again host local drop-off locations nationwide for safe disposal of unneeded medication on Saturday, October 24th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time.  Last April DEA and its partners collected over 640,000 pounds, or 321 tons, of unneeded medication, at over 4,400 collection sites nationwide during the last Take Back Day.  DEA has collected over 21 million pounds, or 10,500 tons, of unneeded medication since 2010.  Additional information about Prescription Drug Take Back Day, including disposal locations, can be found at: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/takeback.html.  DEA’s Diversion Control website also lists permanent year-round drug disposal locations and provides other disposal information.

So registrants conduct controlled substance inventories “biennially” and the public drops off unneeded prescription drugs “biannually.”